Fly Guy/Biker Boy!

Today was so beautiful! It was in the 70's and sunny, so we took a chance to go take an airplane ride. Chris went and flew around a bit before calling in Addison, Asher and I. Alivia did not want to go, of course. Asher took the controls and would not let go. Chris swears Asher landed the plane. Ha!

After lunch, the kids, Grandma and I tried to take a nice peaceful walk on the Shelby trails. The trail is pretty, but the kids were not acting pretty. Grandma and I were seriously exhausted at the end of the walk and needed some quiet time! After watching a little TV, we went back outside to play. Asher was so funny on the big wheel. He has no fear, putting his feet up as he rode down the hill into the rock. He would not even pay attention to where he was going! Alivia played with Tiper, the cat, while Addison pushed her baby around in the stroller. Addison got the touch of the flu and really was suffering as the day wore on.

Meanwhile, Chris and Grandpa went on a motorcycle ride, stopping at one of Grandpa's favorite pubs. The boys had fun!

We finished the day with more TV with popcorn with M&Ms. Mmmmm! After a small detour on the way home, all the kids fell asleep, going right to bed when we got home.

What a fun day and a nice break from our new reality!

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Fall into the Forest

November at the Forest

Earlier in the week, Addison asked to go to the Forest. It was a cool and windy day, so I told her we would try to go later in the week. Since today was 70 degrees and all - what a perfect day to go!

We took a walk on the boardwalk before playing at acorn acres. Addison kept saying how nice it was out. Addison liked making music with Asher, where Asher liked running on the boardwalk best. Addison missed the dinos, but we did get to see them being loaded on the moving truck (but they were missing their heads!). We stopped by the garage to make sure all was well over there before coming home. What a fabulous day to be outside!

 

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Yeah! Some Good News in our Housing Mess!

Yeah! We have good news! We think we now qualify for President Obama's new Housing Bill, stating, "The program is expanded to include a $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who buy a new place after living in their current residence for at least five years." Yes! Finally some good news for us!!!!!!

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& The 2nd Prize Winner is...

...Chris!!

After winning 1st-2nd prizes for at least the last three years, Chris took second prize this year at Northrup Grumman's Ethics Poster Contest. Here are the winners...

Congratulations, Chris! We are so proud of you!

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Wiggles & Giggles

Today was Asher's first day in the Wiggles and Giggles class at the Saddlebrook Community Center. We met Simon, who is 2, and my friend Laura there. It was the best $10 I have spent in a long time! (It is $10 for a 7 week session but we missed the first week).

This week, it started with a welcome song, then we sang songs like Head and shoulders as well as some new songs to get the body moving. The kids all selected parts of the face and made big faces on the wall. There was also time to play with the big parachute, but Asher was a bit afraid of it. It was so much fun to be in such a large place and run and play around. Asher was quite curious having not been in a class like that before. But, with that said, he had a lot of fun! It is a great thing that the 2 of us can do together while Addison is in preschool and Alivia is in Kindergarten.
After class, we went across the hall to the library to get more books. We have been spending a lot of time there since moving into the apartment. This library, being new and all, has all new books which is really nice. It is just a really nice, clean library. As you can see, Asher likes the computer (like Father like son) and likes the rocking chairs there.

We had so much fun that we can't wait until next week!

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Holiday Homework: Alivia's Turkey Project

This weekend, Alivia had another school project to do. The assignment was to cut out the turkey she brought home and disguise Tom Turkey as a different animal or character in hopes of avoiding being caught for Thanksgiving Day Dinner. So, Alivia and Daddy decided to disguise Tom Turkey as a clown. Alivia had fun cutting out the shapes and gluing them into place. It turned out so good - we can hardly tell it is Tom Turkey!

Select HERE to see the turkey project 2 years later!

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November to the Zoo & OCM

November OCM

On Beautiful Sunny Sunday, Chris took the kids along with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bob to the zoo. What a fabulous day to go! I, meanwhile, stayed in on the air mattress to sleep up for my second overnight nursing shift.

Anyway, the kids reported seeing fish, monkeys and more. And, to top it off, they had McDonald's for lunch!

Today, Addison, Asher and I went to the Omaha Children's Museum. I think this is our last month before our membership expires. We started upstairs at the flower exhibit before making our way downstairs. The kids were so tired, they napped on the way home and after arriving at home. We sure have enjoyed our membership...so much so that I think we will ask for it again this year for Christmas!

* Sign in to see all the pictures...

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Homesick

I'm so homesick! It is amazing all the things I miss about being in a home.
1. Having a place to call home.
2. a bed
3. organization
4. cooking
5. baking (all of our supplies are in storage - so we can not cook or bake).
6. Playing with the kids with their toys
7. Quiet moments
8. TV
9. Internet
10. our furniture
11. Our daily schedule
12. Putting up Christmas lights on nice days
13. a yard
14. having a place to host Asher's birthday party in less than a month
15. Did I mention how much I miss our bed?
16. my wash machine and dryer
17. A good night's sleep
18. All of our stuff
19. Room to move about
20, Our kids having their own rooms/beds
21. Silverware and normal plates (not plasticware)
22. Exercise. As Chris and I become more stressed, we are too drained to run/work out. UGH!

I could go on and on and on...

With all that said, there are some things I do not miss:
1. The large space to clean ( I can clean the apartment in 15 minutes!)
Yeah, that's pretty much it.

This is getting old...fast!

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October in Review

Finally, I am getting around to reviewing the crazy month of October! Whew! When I think of October 2009, I will forever remember the stress and exhaustion. But, we did make some time for fun.

The month started out with the normal visit to the Omaha Children's Museum, Zoo, and the Forest, but we threw in the annual trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch, Alivia's school project, playing in the leaves, Boppa Bill's Birthday, snow on October 10 & 11, and moving! Oh, and then there were those crazy moving moments that brought us to an apartment instead of to our new home! I was so hoping we would be in our new home by the end of October. Perhaps I should pray that we will be in a home by the end of November, or is that wishful thinking? Pictures to come...Happy Autumn!

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In the News!

Austins

Our story of waiting for our home has reached the news. Watch on Channel 6 news - the video is available to watch! Let's see if any good news comes this week.

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Halloween 2009

Another year, another fun Halloween behind us. This year, Alivia, age 5, was a storytime (or good) witch. Addison, age 3, selected to be a black kitty cat. Asher, 23 months, was a little Harley biker boy with a doo rag and all.

We started the day at the Saddlebrook Library and Community Center. After signing Asher up for weekly little tyke classes to take while Addison is in preschool, we went to the library for their fun festivities. First, the kids and I listened to spooky Halloween stories and received a free book. Next was the Halloween Costume non contest (everyone was a winner) including another parade (Alivia had a parade yesterday at school). Finally, the kids got to decorate a tiny pumpkin with markers while eating Halloween treats and drinking witches brew (apple juice on top of dry ice with gummy body parts frozen in the ice cubes!). They kids had a blast!

After a 2 hour non nap (2 hours of struggling to get the kids to go to sleep so I could sleep before work tonight), we loaded up with their costumes on. First we hit Grandma Pat's house before going to Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bob's. We decided to trick or treat in their neighborhood this year. They have some nice neighbors who gave big to King sized candy bars! Yummy! Alivia did well, but tired quickly. She said trick or treat and thank you without being prompted much. Addison, although she had fun at first running from house to house, tired quickly without a nap. She said trick or treat and thank you, but was kinda quiet. Addison eventually decided  just to stay in the stroller and eat candy while watching Alivia and Asher trick or treat. Asher loved Halloween. He walked up to the houses holding his bucket out for candy. Asher loves food, especially candy, so this was right up his alley! At one of the last houses, Alivia went to the door while Asher and Addison stayed in the stroller. When Alivia came back with a big bag of peanut M&Ms, Asher climbed out and walked to the door, selecting his own bag of plain M&Ms! (M&Ms are a family favorite of ours).

By the time we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we were all pretty tired. I was more tired just knowing that I had to go to work, working an additional hour because of the time change. Ugh! Knowing that put a huge damper on the night for me.

All in all, we all had fun. I think it hit all of us that we do not have a home or a neighborhood to call our own. It makes such a difference. Chris and I already have big plans for next Halloween - IN OUR HOUSE!!

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